Film on 1985 Malta hijack

Maltese-born film-maker Mario Azzopardi has been signed on by a Canadian and UK company to direct Flight to Oblivion, a film based on the true story of the Egyptair hijack, which ended tragically in Malta in 1985.

The agreement was reached with the Maltese-Canadian director in Los Angeles last month, following talks.

It is, however, almost definite that the film is not going to be shot in Malta for financial reasons and the producers are currently scouting eastern Europe and South Africa for possible locations.

"Ironically, for cost reasons, a film set in Malta and directed by a Maltese is likely never to be shot here," sources close to the producers said.

However, Mr Azzopardi is "doing his utmost to bring the film to Malta," the sources added.

They said the film, which focuses on the drama in and outside the aircraft during the ordeal, should, nevertheless, serve to put Malta on the map.

Flight to Oblivion is likely to be the first Maltese national film on a worldwide scale because of Maltese producing interests already attached to it.

Mediterranean Film Studios' managing director Jost Merten said the studio felt it was a commercially attractive film, with a great story and that it would be a pity if it were not shot here.

Incentives, however limited, have been offered to encourage the shooting in Malta, he said.

Much of the action unfolds inside an aircraft and a control tower, meaning that it could easily be shot in any other country.

Flight to Oblivion is expected to be an action-packed, political thriller based on the terrifying hours passengers on board an airliner flying from Athens to Cairo went through in the hands of ruthless terrorists and the rescue that ensued.

It investigates the hijack, which resulted in what aviation experts say was the world's bloodiest rescue in the history of aviation.

It tells the story of the harrowing Egyptair flight MS 648, hijacked by Middle Eastern terrorists when it took off from Athens on a scheduled flight to Cairo on November 23, 18 years ago.

The hijackers, three members of the Egyptian Revolutionary Organisation, diverted the plane to Malta and demanded fuel, a request that was never acceded to by the Maltese authorities in fear of setting a bad example.

However, the drama turned sour as the terrorists started shooting passengers within an hour of the landing and throwing them out of the plane.

The storming of the aircraft by Egyptian commandos also went horribly wrong as the plane burst into one huge fireball and 58 passengers died from suffocation.

Mr Azzopardi, who emigrated to Canada over 20 years ago, is an avid supporter of filming in Malta and was last year instrumental in persuading Hallmark TV executives to shoot part of a TV series called Dinotopia, which he was also directing, on the island.

Mr Azzopardi was recently nominated by the Directors' Guild of Canada for his latest film Savage Messiah about a religious cult following, which was also based on a true story. It raked in over $2 million at the box office in Quebec alone when it was released in that province.

Flight to Oblivion, the film's working title, is still in development and no concrete dates for filming have been established but it is expected to be shot sometime next year. Other details of the feature film are still being kept under wraps.